RIO FERDINAND was involved in a row about Manchester United minutes before the Community Shield.

Ferdinand was appearing as a pundit for BT Sport alongside Richard Dunne and Chris Sutton when he had to jump in and defend his old team.

Former Manchester City defender Dunne accused United of 'being left behind' and playing football 'in a different era'.

Speaking pitchside before City took on Chelsea, Dunne said: "Look right now - Chelsea, Man City, Liverpool, maybe Arsenal - maybe they might have an exciting team.

"It's almost like Manchester United are being left behind because the football they are playing is from a different era. It's all about getting forward and trying to win games rather than nicking a point here and there. These are the teams you want to watch on a weekend."

Rio Ferdinand locked horns with old playing foe Richard Dunne during Community Shield coverage (Image: Getty)

Ferdinand was standing next to Dunne when host Jake Humphrey asked: "How difficult is it to hear that, that Manchester United are being ‘left behind’?”

The United legend replied: "We are going to talk about that after, aren't we Rich? I understand the brand of football is the thing that's prominent with Maurizio Sarri coming in and getting on the front foot and attacking teams.

"You can look at [Mauricio] Pochettino, [Jurgen] Klopp, Pep Guardiola, these managers are doing that and it seems like the new age of football.

"If you look at Manchester United, they are very much more a defensive-minded team rather than anything else."

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